Godfried Donkor

Godfried Donkor (born 1964) is a Ghanaian artist, living and working in London, who has exhibited in Cuba, Mexico, the US, Europe and Africa. He is known primarily for his work in collage, and has been described as similar to Keith Piper and Isaac Julien in his output. Some of his pieces depict boxers, such as Jack Johnson and Mohammad Ali. Donkor has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, both in the United States and in Europe, and was Ghana's representative to the 2001 Venice Biennale. His work is in the collection of the National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution.

Introduction Godfried Donkor was born in Ghana in 1964, then moved to London, England, in 1973 when he was eight years old. Although known for his painting and collage work, Donkor's original intention as an artist, from the age of 14, was to be a fashion designer. It was only at the urging of his teachers to try a different medium that he purchased some paint and brushes and began painting. Using a variety of methods, Donkor works in mixed-media creating painting, collage, and printmaking as well as video, photography and print works. Donkor's work inspiration comes from the historical and sociological issues shared in the history of the African and European people.

Donkor also works with fabrics and clothing design, separating him from his other types of works. Since the age of 14, he wanted to pursue fashion and was able to bring his love of fashion out through his work. He shows off his fashion design and use of fabric in series such as the Jamestown Masquerade. Many of his pieces showcase an outfit on a mannequin with no head, showing off the art in the fabric and fashion he has created. Donkor also was approached by Puma to design the Football Kits for the Ghana National Football Team in 2012, allowing him to create a design and theme behind his birth nation's team.

Paintings Along with collage, Donkor also has painting series, oil sketches and print series. Keeping with a similar theme of a central character, in the form of an athlete or leader, his paintings are done with oil on canvas, with the addition of a gold-leaf halo around the central figure or figures’ heads. This insertion alludes to Donkor's own relationship to Christianity and recalls early Renaissance commissions for the church. The halo represents a divine and holy figure, showing the African American figure as a higher power similar to a saint. This shows the figures as role models for success and that success is possible no matter where you come from.

This technique can be seen in his painting St. Tom Molineaux, which features the famed bare-knuckle boxer. Tom Molineaux’s image is entirely appropriated from English portrait painter Robert Dighton’s portrait of him in Donkor’s own style of painting. The fairly modest portrait would be indistinguishable to Donkor’s body of work without his insertion of the gold-leaf halo around Molineaux’s head, elevating him to the saint status provided in the work’s title.

Lace series Another material used for Donkor's work has been the incorporation of lace. After living in Nottingham, Donkor created a series called “Once Upon a Time in the West, There Was Lace” for Art Exchange and Nottingham Contemporary. Donkor chose lace, which is a symbol of Nottinghams heritage, as a tribute to Nottingham. The Rebel Madonna Lace exhibit is made up of a bright orange lace jumpsuit, embroidered with a number on the left side, and a straitjacket. The outfits evoke "a penitentiary’s finest", creating "a striking visual representation of commercial enslavement as colonial legacy". Similar to Donkor's previous works bringing attention to the commodification of the human being, the exhibition boldly critiques “empire and exploitation” in the face of Ireland's colonial legacy.

2010–Present In 2012, Donkor designed the football kit for the Ghanaian national football team. He was sought out by Puma after showcasing some work at an exhibit during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Donkor wanted a theme or title for the kit so that it would stand out as another one of his artworks. Donkor researched past Ghana kits ranging from the 1950s to the Youth team. He came up with the theme for the kits "Raining Black Stars", representing the team raining down on the opponent in unison and used the nation's colors of red, gold and green.